Made with Singapore Content on The Rise as The World Looks to Asia For Compelling Storytelling

Companies and talent in Singapore and the region set to benefit from slate of initiatives to bolster financing, partnerships and talent development

SINGAPORE – 4 December 2019: The Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA) today unveiled a series of initiatives, spanning across content development and partnerships, financing and programmes to uplift the capabilities of media talent and to enhance the vibrancy of Singapore’s media ecosystem, further cementing its position as the gateway to Asia’s growing media industry. Minister for Communications and Information Mr S Iswaran announced these initiatives during the opening of Asia TV Forum & Market (ATF) and Screen Singapore, as part of the annual Singapore Media Festival (SMF).

Enhancing the quality and reach of local content

As outlined in the latest report issued by the Programme Advisory Committees (English, Chinese, Malay and Tamil)¹ for the period of April 2017 to March 2019, local Public Service Broadcast (PSB) content has made significant progress through experimentation with new technologies, explorations of new formats and delivery across more digital platforms. 

To promote more innovation in PSB content, IMDA had earlier announced the Public Service Media Digital Partnership Fund (PDPF) to support collaborations between Singapore media companies and international media players on digital-first public service content projects. Following the first call for proposals, IMDA will be supporting four projects to be co-produced by three Singapore production companies – Wawa Pictures, Robot Playground Media and Infocus Asia. With growing interest in the media industry to pursue international/regional content projects, IMDA will launch a second call for proposals in early 2020 to support more collaborations for the creation of innovative public service content that would appeal to audiences in Singapore and beyond.

IMDA is also partnering mm2 Entertainment,  a media entertainment and content company in Singapore for the first time to produce a slate of five Chinese infotainment series that will be released on their new over-the-top (OTT) platform, mPlay Asia, which will be available from April 2020.

Forging new partnerships with global players for “Made with Singapore” content  

To raise the capabilities and expand the business networks of local media companies and talent, IMDA is embarking on a series of new partnerships with global media and tech players - CJ ENM Hong Kong, HOOQ (Singapore), Tencent /VS Media (China) and Viacom International Media Networks (US). The collaborations will cover different areas, from co-funding/co-productions, masterclasses to market access:

• CJ ENM Hong Kong (regional office of CJ ENM South Korea) will conduct training workshops led by its executives and partners, and co-develop and co-produce scripted content to be distributed first on digital platforms.
• Singapore-based OTT platform, HOOQ, and IMDA will co-fund content productions for streaming to new markets across Southeast Asia and India through this collaboration. The IMDA x HOOQ collaboration will also include masterclasses being conducted by HOOQ executives or its industry partners.
• The partnership with Tencent and VS Media will identify and groom promising Singapore digital content creators, media and technology SMEs/ early start-ups to meet the demands of Tencent’s Southeast Asia expansion plans while working with Singapore content creators to access the market in China through a series of training initiatives.
• IMDA will collaborate with Viacom International Media Networks (VIMN) to support digital studio productions in Singapore and open up opportunities for media talent and companies here, such as co-productions for digital-first content.

Facebook will return as a partner for the Facebook Creator Lab, the first of its kind in Southeast Asia. From the first cycle launched in December 2018, Facebook had identified four groups of Singapore digital content creators – Our Grandfather Story, RockstarArms (Keeping it Real), Sharefood Singapore, and The Travel Intern - to create original content on the social network’s new video platform “Facebook Watch”.

The series of partnerships above are supported by IMDA’s Capabilites Partnership Programme (the “Programme”), which was launched in 2018 to anchor leading players in the tech and media industries to elevate the capabilities of media SMEs.

Nurturing the next generation of media talent

As talent development is integral to the development of the media industry, IMDA has put in place various initiatives to provide opportunities for local media talent to hone their craft and gain industry exposure. The Story Lab Apprenticeship (SLA) programme, a 12-month immersive programme² launched in August 2019 to provide local media professionals with the opportunity to work on projects under the mentorship of media veterans, has elicited strong interest, with almost 1,000 applications received for 36 positions ranging from producing, writing, content creation and digital marketing that will commence in 2020. A new partner, HBO Asia, has come on board for this initiative, with applications expected to open shortly. 

HOOQ will also be collaborating with IMDA to produce up to three scripts to develop pilot episodes from stories developed from IMDA’s WritersLab: Script to Screen (S2S) initiative. The three scriptwriters will get valuable experience being part of a production team of the pilot episode of their script. HOOQ will also be providing viewership data from their platform so that the writers will learn how data can be leveraged to make creative and business decisions; better understand their target audience; and reach out to a regional audience. Viewers can expect to watch these episodes on HOOQ’s platform in mid-2020.

Call for partners to jointly support the creation of a vibrant media financing ecosystem

In an effort to ride on the growing demand for regional content, IMDA is seeking to strengthen the media financing ecosystem in Singapore by partnering with top tier media funds that set up and invest out of Singapore. To catalyse and attract other investors in this endeavour, IMDA will be setting aside S$20 million in its call for media fund partners to jointly support projects and provide access to opportunities in the region. Interested parties must be willing to base their operations out of Singapore and possess both strong regional/ global domain expertise in media as well as an established track record in media funds management and investment capabilities.

Related Resources

ANNEX: Fact Sheets of Respective Initiatives (690.24KB)

Annex 1 2019 PAC Combined Report and 2019 PAC Choice List

Annex 2 Public Service Media Digital Partnership Fund

Annex 3 IMDA partners mm2 Entertainment Pte Ltd on Public Service Content

Annex 4 IMDA Announces New Media Partnerships with Global Media Companies for More “Made-with-Singapore” Content

Annex 4a IMDA to Partner with South Korea’s CJ ENM Hong Kong to Co-Fund Scripted Digital Productions by Local Media Companies

Annex 4b IMDA is Partnering with HOOQ to Co-fund Content Productions for Streaming to New Markets in Southeast Asia and India

Annex 4c IMDA, Tencent and VS Media will Partner to Launch Programmes for Media and Tech Companies in Singapore

Annex 4d IMDA to Partner with Viacom International Media Networks to Support Productions for its Digital Platforms and Launch Story Lab Apprenticeship

Annex 4e Facebook Returning for Second Edition of Facebook Creator Lab Partnership with IMDA, Accepting Applications from Local Media Talent and Companies

Annex 5 Story Lab Apprenticeship (SLA)

Annex 6 WritersLab: Script to Screen

Annex 7 IMDA calls for partners to jointly support the creation of a vibrant media financing ecosystem 

¹ The PACs provide the IMDA with feedback on content standards matters and the range and quality of locally produced PSB content from a community perspective. The biennial Combined PAC Report 2019 is a consolidation of observations and recommendations from the four committees and captures the PACs’ feedback on PSB content between April 2017 and March 2019.The annual PAC Choice 2019 drawn up by the PACs celebrates quality local Public Service Broadcast (PSB) programmes produced and shown on local TV and online media. This year’s PAC Choice list covers programmes released between April 2018 and March 2019.

² The Story Lab Apprenticeship (SLA) programme aims to provide promising fresh media professionals with structured training and opportunities to acquire key skills and competencies across in-demand job roles in the media sector. For more information, please visit www.imda.gov.sg/IMTalent/programmes/story-lab-apprenticeship

ISSUED BY THE INFOCOMM MEDIA DEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY

About the Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA)

The Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA) leads Singapore’s digital transformation with infocomm media. To do this, IMDA will develop a dynamic digital economy and a cohesive digital society, driven by an exceptional infocomm media (ICM) ecosystem – by developing talent, strengthening business capabilities, and enhancing Singapore's ICM infrastructure. IMDA also regulates the telecommunications and media sectors to safeguard consumer interests while fostering a pro-business environment, and enhances Singapore’s data protection regime through the Personal Data Protection Commission. For more news and information, visit www.imda.gov.sg or follow IMDA on Facebook and Twitter @IMDAsg.

About the Singapore Media Festival (SMF)

The Singapore Media Festival, hosted by the Infocomm Media Development Authority, is one of Asia’s leading international media events, where the industry meets to discover the latest trends, talents and content in Asia for film, TV and digital media. Taking place from 21 November to 8 December 2019, the Singapore Media Festival brings together the Asian Academy Creative Awards (AAA), Asia TV Forum & Market (ATF) and ScreenSingapore, Singapore Comic Con (SGCC), and Singapore International Film Festival (SGIFF). VidCon Asia Summit will also be held in conjunction with SMF.

For media clarifications, please contact:

Tan Lay Ping
Assistant Director (Communications & Marketing)
Infocomm Media Development Authority 
Tel: +65 88702688
Email: tan_lay_ping@imda.gov.sg

Lee Wai Leng
Manager (Communications & Marketing)
Infocomm Media Development Authority 
Tel: +65 6202 4930
Email: lee_wai_leng@imda.gov.sg

Priscilla Gan
Manager (Communications & Marketing)
Infocomm Media Development Authority 
Tel: +65 6202 4417
Email: priscilla_gan@imda.gov.sg

Candy Pok 
Manager (Communications & Marketing)
Infocomm Media Development Authority
Tel: +65 6211 1706
Email: candy_pok@imda.gov.sg